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"December 27, 1999

One small town's Y2K water preparation By Mitch Ratcliffe, ZDY2K

The water supply in Lakewood, Wash.is ready for Y2K and, if necessary, weeks of power outages. Regardless of other infrastructure collapses, officials say, they can deliver safe drinking water for more than a month.

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The Natural Resources Defense Council and a Y2K action group, the Center for Y2K and Society recently issued a warning to the American public that the water supply was at serious risk when computers roll over to Year 2000 dates. Basing it's conclusion on a small survey of utilities completed in June, 1999, the public interest groups suggested that less than half of the 55,000 water works in the U.S. would be ready for Y2K. Last week, I dealt with the larger utilities in the area.

The NRDC suggested reporters contact local utilities to confirm their findings.

I took the NRDC's challenge and spent some time talking with water officials in Lakewood, where I live. I wanted to see if this town, which is relatively representative of small communities' water preparations, has taken steps to be prepared. What I found is that the water workers here do know their jobs, have followed reasonable Y2K plans and are prepared for the New Year, even if one staffer has to sit in the office at midnight.

In Lakewood, a suburban community of 63,800 lying 45 miles south of Seattle, Water Commissioner Mark Hullinger says work has been underway since late 1998 to prepare the water system for normal operations in 2000. Hullinger is a dedicated public servant - he campaigns tirelessly, standing in the rain to wave to commuters, walking the neighborhoods and working for passage of state legislation - even though he is just a part-time resident of Lakewood and receives no pay for his role as water commissioner.

Computers used for water system management and billing have been checked and repaired, and the utility has laid in a 30-day supply of everything it normally uses, from bushings to backup supplies of diesel fuel for generators.

"We have been taking it very seriously," Hullinger said. However, Lakewood is always ready for sustained power outages, even if they are few and far between. "The state standard requires us to have three days of water stored at all times."

In the winter, when Y2K will arrive, demand for water is at it's lowest of the year. The normal three day supply of purified water will last for seven days to nine days if power fails; it operates on gravity, so clean water will flow under all circumstances.

Lakewood has taken extra steps, including paying a standby fee to a local diesel supplier to reserve a tanker full of fuel to back up its current two-week supply for generators. Hullinger said the community would not have to fire up its generators unless all three of its electric providers failed simultaneously.

"With almost no demand during winter and so much storage, we will never have to run generators," Hullinger said.

All the power suppliers in Washington state have reported that they are ready for Y2K.

One concern raised by the NRDC is that water purification systems could malfunction due to Y2K problems, causing too much or too little chlorine and other chemicals to be injected into drinking water. The result would be poisoning of people and the environment. Senator Robert Bennett (R - Utah) fueled fears about this problem when he said in 1998 that a water works in his state had mistakenly put too much chlorine in its water during a Y2K test. Bennett has never named the utility or provided any proof the accident happened.

Hullinger said the Lakewood water system cannot be poisoned by its chlorine injectors, which can be operated manually. The device calculates the appropriate amount of chemicals mechanically based on how much water is flowing through the system.

Lakewood Water will have a staffer onsite during the date rollover on December 31, with a support team waiting for calls that must be made by 1 o'clock AM on New Year's Day in order to call off emergency measures. Hullinger, a part-time water commissioner, will spend the holiday at his winter home in Florida."

-- Bruce (Bruce.dague@excite.com), December 30, 1999

Answers

The commissioner is one smart fellow getting the heck out of Lakewood and coming down here to Florida this time of year. Shoot! I am from that neck of the woods. 99% of the time if you want water just go outside and hold up a bucket or open your mouth. Yep...hes a smart guy so Lakewood is probably in good shape!

Taz...who couldn't be dragged back there kicking and screaming even tho its "home".

-- Taz (Tassi123@aol.com), December 30, 1999.